Acknowledgements With particular thanks to Jean-Yves Gouttebel, President of the Local Council of the Puy-de- Dôme, and to the staff at the University and other experts who have contributed to this project: Pierre BOIVIN, Benjamin VAN WYK DE VRIES, Eric LANGLOIS, Yves MICHELIN, A unifying Olivier MERLE, © D. Pourcher © D. Pourcher François-Dominique de la ROUZIERE, Frédéric TREMENT, regional project Laurent RIEUTORT, Contact details Alain GOURGAUD, Philippe LABAZUY, Institution Christèle BALLUT, Conseil général du Puy-de-Dôme his application proposal These thirty years of sustainable, Hôtel du Département Franck VAUTIER, 24, Rue Saint Esprit for the magmato-tectonic collaborative management of this 63033 Clermont-Ferrand cedex 1 Gérard VERNET, ensemble of the Chaîne des outstanding geological landscape have www.puydedome.fr Dominique DESCOTES, HERITAGE TPuys and the Limagne Fault to be accepted enabled it to preserve its integrity. This Coordinator Bruno PHALIP, onto the World Heritage List has been jointly application proposal to the World Heritage Cécile OLIVE-GARCIA, Dominique ORTH, compiled by the local council of the Puy-de- List aims to unite all the interested parties Head of Project, Direction of Evaluation and Projects Pierre LOISEAU, Dôme, the Regional Natural Park of the and the local population in order to: Email address: [email protected], Volcanoes of the Auvergne (PNRVA), the Telephone: 04 73 42 12 15 - Fax: 04 73 42 21 22 Antonella TUFANO, Philippe ROCHER, University of Clermont-Ferrand and the make the universal excellence of this Graphic Designer Marc LIVET, local government of the Auvergne region, site more widely known; Rudy MOUTIER with support from the regional government Conseil général du Puy-de-Dôme Christian JAMOT, and the town of Clermont-Ferrand. allow for social and economic Pierre VINCENT, development within the legal framework set Acknowledgements for photographs Claude BERANGER, The application is part of an ongoing up in 1930 for the protection of classified Eric LANGLOIS, Pierre BOIVIN, Benjamin VAN WYK DE VRIES, Olivier ROQUETANIERE, Olivier MERLE, Laurent MICHON, Denis POURCHER, Jodie WAY, des process to protect and highlight the value landscapes; Pierre SOISSON (cover photograph ), EAVUC, PNRVA, haîne Puys Christine MONTOLOY, Conseil général du Puy-de-Dôme C of this area, which began in 1977 with Gérard COLLIN, Translation the creation of the PNRVA. In 2000 the favour sustainable local development and Christopher WOOD. Chaîne des Puys was added to the national based on carefully planned tourism; Frances VAN WYK DE VRIES Limagne fault list of Natural Monuments and Sites Printing (following a law established in 1930), then develop national and international 1,000 copies - Imprimerie Decombat in 2008 it achieved the status of GRAND SITE scientific research on this major DE FRANCE®. volcanological and geological site. July 2010 WORLD HERITAGE © D. Pourcher (Source: © EAVUC 2009) Application for the magmato-tectonic ensemble of the Chaîne des Puys and Limagne Fault 2 1 Identification of the Property 4 2 Description 2.a Description of Property 2.b History and development 14 3 Justification for Inscription 3.a Criteria under which inscription is proposed 3.b Proposed Statement of Outstanding Universal Value 3.c Comparative analysis 3.d Integrity and authenticity 22 4 Protection and management 4.a Factors affecting the Property 4.b Protection and management of the Property 4.c Management plan and key indicators for measuring state of conservation Identification Gour de Tazenat 1 ule valley of the Property Sio Sillon Houiller 1.a Country: France ASIA EUROPE 1.b Region: Plateau des Limagne NORTH Auvergne Region, Department of the Puy-de-Dôme AMERICA Pontaumur graben ATLANTIC Dômes OCEAN AFRICA 1.c Name of Property: Magmato-tectonic ensemble of the Chaîne des Puys and the Limagne Fault SOUTH AMERICA 1.d Geographical coordinates to the Limagne fault Limagne nearest second: fault Limagne X = 0° 43’ 49,2852’’ - Y = 45° 42’ 4,2012’’ Chaîne des Allier River 1.e Maps and plans, showing the Puys Clermont- boundaries of the nominated property: Ferrand Written description of the boundary of the proposed Property: FRANCE Plateau The magmato-tectonic ensemble of the Chaîne des Puys de Gergovie Massif central and the Limagne Fault is around sixty kilometres from north to south, and around ten kilometres from west to east. The outline is delimited morphologically: to the north by the gour de Tazenat, which is the most northerly basaltic maar of the Chaîne des Puys; to the east by the fault escarpment which separates the plateau des Dômes, a crystalline horst, from the Morvan sediments of the Limagne Plain; to the south-east by the Monts Dore massif, a Boundaries of the property stratovolcano dating from the end of the Tertiary Altitudes Chaîne Limagne period which is cut by glacial valleys; Mont-Dore 1,886 m des Puys Limousin massif mont Dore Forez to the south by the Pavin-Montchal-Montcineyre Cèzallier Velay volcanic complex, which is the most recent Cantal Devez manifestation of volcanic activity in the Chaîne des Margeride N Aubrac Vivaray Puys; Cévennes Causses 1,000 m W E to the north-west by the Sioule river which initially Escandorgue runs northwards, then turns towards the north-west Lac Pavin S at the Pont-de-Menat. 50 Km 1.f Area of nominated property: 160 m ² 508,55 km 0 5 10 km Source: E. Langlois, 2 3 CERAMAC, Clermont-Ferrand Plateau de Gergovie Plateau des Dômes Laschamp lava flow Limagne Fault Lava flow from the puys de la Vache and Lassolas Puy de Dôme Sillon Houiller Lac Pavin Gour de Tazenat 2 Description 2.a Description of Property The structural-morphological The plateau des Dômes framework of the magmato- The plateau is composed of a basement whose tectonic ensemble complex evolution covered the period from the Topographic cross-section of the magmato- tectonic ensemble viewed from the east Palaeozoic to the Cenozoic (see also the section on the (Source: E. Langlois, CERAMAC, Clermont-Ferrand) he magmato-tectonic ensemble of the Background and development). In the Carboniferous, Chaîne des Puys and the Limagne Fault is around 350 Ma, the sedimentary rocks were Tthe result of successive geological events metamorphosed to form gneisses and schists during dating back to Palaeozoic times. These events the Variscan orogeny, which was accompanied by include major dynamic processes such as orogenesis Topographic cross-section of the magmato- thrust faulting. At the same time intense magmatic tectonic ensemble viewed from the north (mountain building), erosion, faulting and activity led to the intrusion of large granitic bodies. A (Source: E. Langlois, CERAMAC, Clermont-Fd) magmatism, and the end product we see today is an second wave of granitic intrusions took place in the impressive scaled-down model of the following Clermont-Ferrand area between 330-280 Ma (the structural geological features, all found within a Royat granite body dates from this event) which limited area: represented the final wave of Variscan activity. From The Sillon Houiller the Permian period, around 250 Ma, the Variscan an eroded horst – the plateau des Dômes –; topography underwent erosion for around 200 Ma to The 250 km-long Sillon Houiller fault is the largest a Carboniferous strike-slip fault – the Sillon Houiller –; form the peneplain onto which the Chaîne des Puys tectonic feature which crosses the Massif Central, and a continental rift – the Limagne Fault –; edifices and their associated deposits were erupted. it separates the non-volcanic western sector of the a rift graben – the sedimentary Limagne graben –; Decize Le Creusot The substratum outcrops at a number of locations massif from the volcanic sector to the east. Its a monogenetic volcanic field – the Chaîne des around Clermont-Ferrand, and the planar surface of presence at the surface is marked by the Moulins Puys –. the horst exposes structures which were initially NNE-SSW alignment of discontinous Noyant created at depth, such as the granitic plutons. The Carboniferous pull-apart basins. The Sillon MONTLUCON Chaîne des Puys Plateau des Dômes plateau des Dômes is an uplifted horst between two Houiller formed as the uplift associated Sioule valley St Eloy Sillon Houiller Roanne Plateau de Gergovie tectonic grabens: the Limagne graben to the east, with the Variscan collision gave way to and the Olby graben, which includes the collapse structures, creating a huge Limoges Limagne Fault Pontaumur CLERMONT- FERRAND Gour de Tazenat Sioule valley, to the west. The horst is up strike-slip fault which can be traced from LYON Lac Pavin Limagne graben to 1,030 m high whereas the Moulins in the north to Décazeville in the St Sauves Mont-Dore Massif Allier river Limagne plain lies at an altitude south, passing close to Saint-Eloy-les-Mines Brassac St Etienne of around 300 m. An E-W and Pontaumur in the Puy de Dôme. The W N cross-section shows that the fault can be detected down to a depth of a few BRIVE Argental Langeac S E profile is asymmetric, with a hundred kilometres, and the associated pull-apart steeper gradient on the eastern side basins are infilled with vegetation from the of the horst, facing the Limagne graben. Stephanian (the end of the Carboniferous, around This is due to a series of closely-spaced 300 Ma). This sedimentary infill bears a record of the Figeac Décazeville tectonic faults on this side giving a steeply various deformations which have affected the region terraced aspect, combined with erosion of the over the last 300 Ma. Cévennes basin RODEZ sediments from the Limagne plain. On the western Najac side the profile is much gentler. Thus the valleys on ALÈS the eastern slope are both deeper and narrower as a Sillon Houllier strike-slip fault in the Massif Central result of this steeper gradient. (Source: P.